


someday

by spoke



Category: Bridge to Terabithia - Katherine Paterson
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-21
Updated: 2017-08-21
Packaged: 2018-12-18 00:18:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11862687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spoke/pseuds/spoke





	someday

**Author's Note:**

  * For [fleurlb](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fleurlb/gifts).



Rolling through the town, Jess could tell right away it wasn’t like it had been when he was a kid, that was for sure. With all these new buildings and traffic lights and whatnot, it almost looked like a proper suburb. Who’d have thought? 

He didn’t much care about that, though. For all he’d left Lark County behind, all those years ago, he could still remember what it had been like. Without the nostalgic mess in his head that so many of his former classmates seemed to have, Jess didn’t see any reason to complain. Not that he spoke to them all that often, but he couldn’t just blow through town and not talk to anyone. May Belle would have his head if he didn’t stop by to see their sisters, and Janice had asked him to tell her what the town was like, after they came back.

Which startled a little laugh out of him, imagining what his ten year old self would have to say to that.

“Honey?” Elizabeth asked, looking over at him as they pulled into what passed for the driveway of the old farmhouse. He smiled and shook his head as he parked. “Did I ever tell you how much of a bully Janice Evans used to be?” he asked, and she smiled. “You may have mentioned it a few times.” 

“Alright then.” he replied, and climbed out to open the door for her. “Watch your step here, this mud’s a bit tricky sometimes.” 

“I’m just fine, Jess!” ‘Liza laughed at him, but she let him help her out of the car all the same. They’d made this trip more for ‘Liza anyway, since she’d wanted to see where he grew up for years now, and they weren’t likely to do a lot of traveling after the baby came. Not at first, anyway. 

He’d been a little reluctant at first. Sometimes you go back to a place and it’s nothing like your memories, and Jess had done that often enough with his job that he wasn’t sure he wanted to see Terabithia again. ‘Liza had insisted though, and after seeing how the town had built up, he was glad they were here. The thought that someone might buy the woods and plunk some factory or something down on it sent a little chill through his heart. 

The squeeze on his hand brought him out of it again, and he shook his head. “Sorry, ‘Liza, it’s just...”

“The old town looks really different, huh?” She smiled softly, but he could tell by the pinch in her eyes that she knew it wasn’t the town he was worried about. “It’ll be fine,” she whispered, and tugged his hand. “Cowshed was this way, right?” 

Silly moment to feel grateful they’d met all over again, but what can you do? He laughed, and said, “Yeah, it’s still right there. Minus a few planks on that side, when did that happen?” 

“Who knows? It looks like it’s been awhile, though.” ‘Liza answered, circling around it with him as they headed into the former cow pasture. “Do you think ...?” 

It took him a minute to respond, because for some reason being back here made it a little hard to talk about feelings again. He could just imagine what Leslie would say about that, though. Never mind he’d gotten past so much of that as he grew. “It happened after Dad passed? He would never have let it stay like that, so sure.” He sighed, stopping to look across at the old Perkins place. 

‘Liza stepped up beside him, leaning her head on his shoulder. “That was their house.”

“Yeah. Now that I expected to be a mess, no one’s ever stayed there long.” They stayed there a few minutes, a companionable silence broken when someone’s dog came barking across the field and chased whatever what it was after towards the woods. Following it was easier than looking for his old path, which was no doubt long gone. He knew May Belle and then Joyce Ann had kept coming for awhile after he’d moved out, but that wouldn’t have kept the way worn down after all this time.

What was surprising was finding the planks were still there. They both stood there for a minute, judging the weathered wood and the rusty nails, and then ‘Liza took his hand and started walking downstream. “There’ll someplace down here shallow enough, I’m sure.” She muttered, in that slightly irritated and determined way of hers when she was taking something personal. 

Usually Jess would laugh and tease her about that, but he was a little irritated himself. Even if it was purely irrational that he should think the bridge would still be sound, when he’d known the path would be gone. Maybe because he’d made the bridge himself; lord knew he’d always taken after Dad that way, being proud of the things he made and thinking they were better than anything anyone else did. He’d been a kid when he put the thing up, he wouldn’t have know how to make something that would last. Never mind trusting the weight of two adults to it.

He jumped a little as his wife’s voice brought him out of it. “Jess Aarons, if you’re off in your head again you had better be coming up with the next comic.” She said knowingly, and shook her head slightly at the guilty expression he knew he was wearing. Then she waved in a regal fashion at the crossing she’d found, a narrow bit he’d never seen before that made him wonder how long they’d been walking. “Your crossing, my Lord.” She teased gently, and slipped down the short bank to where they could cross the creek in a couple of steps.

“It’s just been awhile.” He said softly, following her down. “Easy to get lost in memories out here.” 

“And it’s the good ones we’re looking for.” She replied, shading her eyes as they walked toward the sun and into the pine trees. 

“They’re taller now.” He gestured, and laughed. “Silly thing not to expect, but I really thought somehow that I’d be taller than the trees now. The way the house looked smaller than I remembered.” 

She smiled, delighted. “But houses don’t grow, Jess.” She replied, reaching up to tousle his hair, and then laughed herself as he dug his notebook out of his pocket and jotted down the new idea. “No reason they shouldn’t, I guess.” She whispered, waiting happily as he got down the sketch to go with the first words, so they could get back on their way.

After that it was a much merrier walk, with jokes about Robin Hood and Narnia, and comparing stories they remembered with the woods they were walking through. They slowed down walking through the sacred grove, watching the birds flicker through. The bright red of a cardinal flashing by among the softer browns draws a deeper breath from Elizabeth, and he knows she’s remembering when he first told her about Leslie. About what happened to Leslie.

He reaches over to squeeze her hand, this time, and they moved out of the sacred grove and towards the lighter shade of the dogwood and the redbud.

The castle was about as stable as the bridge had been, and he could see by the fading paint and tattered ribbons that the girls had made even more changes after he left. He just shook his head and grinned at ‘Liza, who was smiling with approval at the girly mess. “I assume you didn’t decide pink was the right color for it?” She joked.

“Lord no. I’m pretty sure Leslie would never have gone for it for herself, either, if. Well. If she’d been with us still when I brought May Belle.” He coughed to clear his throat, shaking his head at the more painful memory. 

“I bet she’d have loved having the other girls around, eventually.” ‘Liza said softly, coming to sit by him as he settled down to draw.

“Sure she would.” He smiled. “She’d probably have ended up inviting May Belle, herself. I don’t think I’d have thought of it if she’d still been around.” He frowned, glancing between the trees and his page. So here he was again, years of work behind him to learn his craft, and years ahead to share more stories, and pay more into the world. 

“You can do it, Jess.” His wife whispered, her voice soft and full of love and somehow echoing her voice, all those years ago, telling him he would someday. And Jess set about capturing the poetry of the trees.


End file.
